Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Weekend Round-Up

Friday's glorious run in the sun was hard to beat, but on Saturday I ski toured up to Crowfoot Glacier area off the Icefields Parkway. We were a huge group and as a result we more moving pretty slow.....so it was the perfect recovery day! Yet another great day in the backcountry with Keith and our friends.

"Let's go THAT way!!"

Looking towards Bow Lake and Num-Ti-Jah Lodge

Crowfoot Glacier

Makin' a Plan....

Backcountry Ski Stud!!

Keith had just returned from 4 days of backcountry skiing, but was still keen to get out for another day. He has had 39 days in the backcountry this year!! He is a beautiful skiier. And he is all mine!

Sunday, as a grand-finalee....the sun came out again and it was HOT. I took a run up the Spray River Valley to Goat Creek. This run is right out the back door. I was running on a cross country skiing trail that was in terrible shape. With all of the melting and freezing and thawing the track-set has turned to mush. It was far better running. I actually saw a guy on a mountain bike who started early and rode the frozen hardpack all the way from Canmore! That's about 20+ km on snow. Now that's hardcore! I also saw a bunch of wolf scat and some huge footey prints right in the middle of the trail.

When I arrived back in Banff, I decided to do a "bonus loop" to get an extra hill in and run up the trail to the Rimrock hotel. I rounded a corner in the forest and saw someone hammering down the trail towards me.....clad only in a bra-top, 3/4 tights and ARM warmers! I laughed very hard and was surprised to see my hyper-kinetic friend Nicki from Calgary. Nicki has more energy than anyone on the planet and she told me she was menopausal and permanently hot these days (thus the fabulous mid-winter outfit) and she was trying to squeeze a long run in in preparation for the Diez-Vista 50k. She is one hot mama! Just a year ago she suffered a broken leg, so she is back in full force. When we got back towards my house she did a full dive into the snow bank and rolled around in the bra top and took a long pause face first in the snow. Too funny. After the 4 hr. run she went up to Mount Norquay to meet up with her hubby and kids for a little resort ski.....Go Super Mom!

Hi Michelle - I'll definately be around this summer when you roll through and should be at Death Race playing support crew. Enjoy your experience this weekend, I would so love to be ripping around on the mossy trails of Chuckanut Mountain right now! Your hubby may be a little delirious by the time he reunites with you after his race! Have fun!

About Me

I am a Trail Runner who loves to explore the backcountry by foot. Trail Running makes me feel like I am 5 years old. In winter, I need skis to take me on my adventures. There's nothing I like more than spending long days outside and running around in the woods.

Me and the Pacific Crest Trail

The PCT is a hiking trail that travels 2,650 miles from Canada to Mexico. In 2012, I hiked the trail from North to South, traveling the length of this beautiful trail all by my lonesome. I was a girl alone in the wilderness. I loved every moment of it. Here's an archive of my sporadic postings from along the trail.